On the 10th it proceeded to a point opposite Abdullah Effendi and found the country partially inundated, the banks or “bunds” having been broken. All this day and part of the next, the enemy continued his advance down the canal, lured on by our cavalry which retreated before him; but on the 11th he met with failure, for on that day British troops, including the Buffs, had been sent up the right bank of the Nahr Khalis towards Deli Abbas to meet him, while another column, after a night march from Dogamia, fell upon his right flank. This latter movement proved a complete surprise, was entirely successful and resulted in a Turkish retreat, hurried somewhat at first, but soon covered by an efficient and properly worked rear guard, which caused the pursuit to be a slow one, though quite continuous. On the 12th the Buffs reached the junction of the Nahr Khalis, with the Nahr Tahwila, where they bivouacked with B Company, and the Dogras in front on picquet. The next day the cavalry tried a turning movement, with a view to reaching the Kifri road at a point behind the retreating army, but lack of water caused this adventure to fail. The Buffs, leaving B Company and the Dogras behind, continued the advance with the 13th Brigade R.F.A. and took up, in conjunction with the 102nd Grenadiers, a fresh picquet line for the night. The regiment lost two men killed and nineteen wounded on this date. On the 14th this new picquet line was sniped all day by a few men supported by a rear guard with machine guns, and Captain Dolamore of the Middlesex, who was attached to the Buffs, was killed, thirteen men being wounded. After marching forward a few miles on the 15th, it was determined to stop the pursuit, as it was not advisable to enter the hilly country of the Jebel Hamrin, where the defence would have great advantages; so the original idea of crossing the Shatt el Adhaim was resumed, those who had interfered with the scheme having been now driven away. So the marching of the next two days was in an opposite direction, and on the 18th at 4 a.m. the Buffs started, in support of the 38th Brigade, for the point where the smaller stream joined the Tigris, at which place a bridge was thrown and the crossing at once commenced. The Buffs got over about noon without opposition, proceeded to Deluiya and at dusk went out on picquet along the Nahrwan Canal. The Turkish opposition on the left bank of the Tigris had collapsed and many prisoners were taken. The following day all available lorries and ambulances spread away over the country behind the cavalry, with a view to collecting booty, but this enterprise was of no avail at all: the local Arab had seen to all that business. The enemy still had some fight left in him on the other side of the great river, however, and on the 20th April the Buffs marched up the left bank as escort to the R.F.A. The next day the Turks stood to fight on the other side of the water, and, their aeroplane having been destroyed, they were unaware of anything likely to interfere with their plans on the bank opposite to them; but our guns enfiladed their position with very marked success and, after this participation in the action, the troops marched back seven miles to Deluiya. Of course, the main avenue of communication between the army of Mesopotamia and the base had always been the river, and the spot up to which the boats could come with safety was constantly being changed as the armies advanced up stream. This river-head, as it was called, was the advanced depot for supplies, and when troops wandered far from river-head they were badly fed. Consequently, the 22nd April was a red-letter day because a better and fuller supply of rations was issued, as the boats now came up to Samjali, where a bridge over the Tigris had been made on the 19th.
While operations had been going on on the right bank of the main river it became clear that the other Turkish corps was again issuing from the Jebel Hamrin, this time down the Shatt el Adhaim, and that it was advancing against our troops on the left bank. On the 23rd his leading units had reached Dahuba with the remainder seventeen miles in rear, and it was determined to endeavour to crush this leading force before it could be reinforced, so a night march and attack at dawn was arranged. The enemy’s position ran north-west from the Shatt el Adhaim, and his right flank was bent back in a northerly direction in front of Dahuba. Specially detailed parties of a hundred Buffs and a hundred Dogras, under Captain Jones of the latter regiment, proceeded in motor-cars to surprise and attack the Turks’ extreme right at 6 a.m., but our guns had already so cleverly made use of the surprise element, and with such great effect, that the position had already been abandoned. The Buffs took up a picquet line, but, being relieved by the 102nd Grenadiers, they marched back to bivouac on the river. The next day the pursuit commenced. The enemy was retiring up both banks of the Shatt el Adhaim, and the British force followed for three sultry days, reaching Satha on the evening of the 27th. Here the Turk was close to his Jebel Hamrin, from which hilly region he had so recently issued, and here, amongst the foothills, he elected to stand while a strong rear guard covered the withdrawal to his selected position. Opposite to this the Buffs bivouacked for the night, being in reserve to the rest of Thomson’s force, which was holding a portion of our picquet line, about two miles separating our main line from that of the enemy. Reconnaissance was rendered almost impossible by reason of the heat and low visibility, besides during the night there came on one of those dreadful dust-storms so common in these regions, and this one lasted for about forty-eight hours. The last day of the month saw a very successful attack made on the position, in spite of the dust-storm, which, however, greatly assisted the enemy to secure his line of retreat after he had been defeated. During this fight the Buffs were in reserve; the 35th Brigade, however, bore their full share of the victory, which resulted in the capture of numerous prisoners and trophies. In describing the events recorded above, Sir Stanley Maude in his official despatches uses the following words: “During this period of hard marching and heavy fighting the Buffs specially distinguished themselves on several occasions.” On the 1st May our aeroplanes reported the enemy seven miles away in full retreat.
Sir Stanley Maude now determined that a redistribution of the troops for the hot weather was a necessity, and as the resistance of the enemy was thoroughly broken the chief matter to consider now was the wellbeing of our men during the trying portion of the year which was before them. On the 5th May the Buffs marched to Satha, thence on to Dahuba, and on the 10th crossed the pontoon bridge over the Adhaim, escorting transport and guns. A certain amount of time was spent at Bakuba and more at Abu Kamed, on Diala river. At the latter place the battalion remained all the early summer and was employed chiefly in digging and wiring. Hot weather in the plains of India, with all the appliances and inventions of long experience to mitigate the discomforts of existence, is trying enough, but month after month of lassitude and exhaustion caused by summer in a burning country without any such mitigation is a terrible trial to the strongest; the experience was just one that had to be lived through, and that is all about it.
Early in August a little break came, bringing with it, at any rate, a change of scene: our aeroplanes reported that the Turks were entrenching a position south-west of Shahroban, and it was determined to occupy that place at once. Therefore on the 13th August the Buffs with the remainder of their brigade crossed the Diala river to Bakuba, and then moved towards the north-east and on the 19th reached Misdad from Abu Jisra without opposition. The next day the brigade moved out at 4.30 a.m. to march on Shahroban with orders to skirt the town, the Buffs to go round the south side and the Dogras the north. The great objective was a certain nullah, and this was occupied without opposition at 6.35 a.m. Then another period of monotony set in and until the 18th October the battalion was at Shahroban in Mesopotamia, and that was all its history.
The Jebel Hamrin, though not a lofty range of mountains, is a very broken set of hills, and it is from this region that the waters which feed the canals is obtained. So long as the Turks remained in possession of these hills, so long had they control of the canals. Early in October, therefore, it was decided to take over this Jebel Hamrin, but first to clear the left bank of the Diala from the enemy. This was done by attacking a position he held near Deli Abbas, on which occasion all objectives were gained, and the British were enabled to take up a line astride of the Diala river where it issues from the gorge of the Jebel, and so gain control of the head waters of the canals. In connection with these operations the Buffs, who had a series of canals on their front, began their work on the 18th October by sending A Company out to seize two bridges—Lieut. Bonner’s platoon to attack, while that under Sgt. Turnbull occupied a mound close by. Certain opposition was encountered, but we held the bridges by 10 a.m., at which hour no enemy was in sight. Two Buffs were killed and one wounded. During the evening B Company advanced and took up a picquet line along the Haruniyah Canal without opposition, C Company took over the mounds and D was in reserve three hundred yards to the south-west. The next day picquets were pushed out early and occupied the line of the Ruz Canal. Meanwhile Egerton’s force had secured the Jebel Hamrin, and at 3 p.m. the battalion was ordered through the hills. The next day Kizil Robat was occupied by cavalry and the Norfolk Regiment. The Buffs had four men wounded while digging, the working party being shelled by a camel gun from across the Diala. On the 30th October the battalion, with many others, was issued with winter clothing and settled down to road-making in the Jebel, for the General Commanding-in-Chief had decreed that all the communications in this district were to be made good, the canals bridged in many places and the wild hills penetrated everywhere by roads fit for wheeled traffic. The enemy tried a counter-demonstration on the other side of the Tigris, and what was still a war rolled away to the westward of the troops in which we are interested.
On the 19th November the army received the sad news of the death by cholera of their Commander-in-Chief, Sir Stanley Maude—a soldier much beloved and highly respected by officers and men. He had won the war in Mesopotamia, and all had gone well there from the moment of his taking over. He was the son of General Sir F. F. Maude, V.C., G.C.B., the first commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion The Buffs, which unit was added to the regiment in 1857.
Towards the end of November the enemy had retired so far both up the Tigris and the Euphrates that Sir W. R. Marshall, who had succeeded Maude, considered that the only way to strike him was to attack that portion of his forces which were holding certain passes in the Jebel Hamrin and Kara Tepe. There is a stream called the Nahrin which, flowing from the north, joins the Diala to the east of the Jebel, and the Turks had flooded the low land east of the junction of the two streams, so creating a considerable obstacle in connection with any attack from the southward on Kara Tepe. At midnight on the 2nd/3rd December the brigade held the left bank of the Diala from Tawila to Sawaya, with the Buffs in the centre, and the orders were to engage the enemy’s picquets on the far bank at dawn, while the 37th Brigade attacked due west from the north of Kizil Robat, but the scheme was found unworkable in its entirety, simply because the 35th Brigade had no means of crossing. The fords had disappeared and it was two o’clock in the afternoon before the Buffs got over, after which the brigade concentrated again and bivouacked for the night. During the day the enemy was reported to be retiring on Kara Tepe, having been driven from the Jebel passes by the 13th Division. On the 4th December the advance on Kara Tepe continued, the 35th Brigade halting about five miles short of it. The Buffs were the brigade advance guard during this day. It was a trying march, for two reasons: water was very scarce—and it is an undoubted hardship to have to work and march, even in December, without an adequate supply of water, and also the progress was terribly slow because the ground was intercepted by nullahs, many of which had to be filled in and prepared for crossing. At daybreak on the 5th the march was continued and, after moving about four miles, water was found in some small nullahs. Here the brigade deployed for attack, the 37th Dogras leading, with the 2/4th Ghurkas in support, the Buffs soon coming up in echelon on the right of the Ghurkas. The attack of the brigade was materially assisted by a flank advance by the 40th (British) Brigade and the whole work proved extremely easy, the previous marching being the worst feature of the operation. The whole position was taken and the enemy soon in full retreat on Kifri. The pursuit was not pushed far, and the Buffs, after passing through a dust storm on its way to Kizil Robat on the 7th, and after a long and dusty march the next day, found themselves back in their old camping ground north of Shahroban.
January, 1918, proved a very wet month, but work of all sorts was carried on during the early part of the year, and this work included extensive gardening and farming operations. There is but little to record for the year 1918; as far as the 5th Battalion is concerned, their enemy was broken, but the final surrender was not till the end of October, and in the meantime the men remained for the most part in the same camp and worked at gardening and also at a new railway which was in progress. The news of a few honours was received during the hot weather. On the 21st May Pte. A. W. King was mentioned in despatches; as were Captain W. A. Harrison, attached from the 4th Battalion, and Lieut. Weldon on the 11th June. R.Q.M.S. Middleditch, C.Q.M.S. Woodruff and Pte. Friend all got the Meritorious Service Medal in August.
The news of the armistice with Turkey was received on the 1st November, 1918, and of the armistice with Germany on the 11th. There is nothing to show that the story about the latter news being received by the men in silence, and that later on wild cheering was heard but ascertained to be only because a belated consignment of ration rum had at last turned up, relates to the 5th Battalion of the Buffs. As after every war, when peace or its equivalent is proclaimed, the exiled soldier’s thoughts immediately and naturally turn to home; of course they do. However that may be, orders came that the Buffs were to be one of the regiments to remain in Mesopotamia for another hot season.
The cadre of the battalion, a very tiny remnant of those who embarked in 1914, reached home in January, 1920, under command of Lt.-Colonel J. Body, D.S.O., O.B.E. This battalion was therefore actually a few days longer abroad than the 4th. Casualties during the war were 12 officers and 118 other ranks killed; 26 officers and 533 other ranks wounded. Honours: two D.S.O.’s, one bar to D.S.O., one Albert Medal, two O.B.E.’s, one M.B.E., six M.C.’s, sixteen D.C.M.’s, one M.M., eight M.S.M.’s, five foreign decorations and fifty-two mentions in despatches.